Zeals, a Tokyo-based startup that uses its chat application to connect businesses with their customers, announced on 12th May 2022 that it has raised US $27.2 million (3.5 billion yen) in equity and US $11.6 million (1.5 billion yen) in debt. According to the company, the latest round increases the company’s total funding garnered to US $41.4 million, which did not provide its valuation.
JIC Venture Growth Investments led the Series E equity fundraising, with participation from Z Venture Capital, Z Holdings’ venture capital arm, Japan Post Capital, and Salesforce Ventures. In addition, Mizuho Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group contributed to the debt financing.
The newest investment will let Zeals develop new products faster, broaden their distribution channels, and expand internationally. Before the COVID outbreak, the company had operations in Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines, but it has temporarily pulled back. Zeals talks with several clients about re-entering Asia and the United States.
What the company has to say:
Masahiro Shimizu, the company’s founder, and CEO stated that communication designers use the company’s internal no-code bot builder to tailor the service for consumers. While other competitors focus on customer assistance, Zeals focuses on promotions to help its users improve income by recruiting new customers.
According to Zeals CFO Yusuke Watanabe, the company’s revenue has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 139 percent since 2017, but he did not provide a baseline for that growth. Watanabe also revealed that Zeals’ average conversion rate is 9.6%, implying that nearly one out of every ten clients who utilize the Zeals chatbot service purchase.
More about the company and the market:
Zeals was founded in 2014 and already services over 400 businesses, including Toyota dealerships, Shiseido, and NTT Docomo.
Former Uber employee Chris Messina invented the phrase “conversational commerce” in 2015 to describe how internet businesses can sell their products and services through messaging and chat apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. The coronavirus pandemic has driven messaging apps to personal, business, and commercial communication.
According to Juniper Research, the global market for conversational commerce, also known as chat commerce or conversational marketing, is predicted to reach US $290 billion by 2025, up from US $41 billion in 2021, marking a 590 percent gain over the next four years.
We try our best to fact-check and bring the best, well-researched, and non-plagiarized content to you. Please let us know
-if there are any discrepancies in any of our published stories,
-how we can improve,
-what stories you would like us to cover and what information you are looking for, in the comments section below or through our contact form! We look forward to your feedback, and thank you for stopping by! Next Article
 in equity and US $11.6 million (1.5 billion yen) in debt.){kind=link}